Logistics industry should strive for sustainability

In order to establish global standards for sustainable logistics, the industry needs “to work together.”

That was the message from John Pattullo, CEO of CEVA Logistics. Pattullo was speaking at the German Logistics Congress in Berlin in October.

In his presentation, called Supply Chain Greening – the awkward truth, Pattullo pointed out that the logistics market sector is accountable for more than five percent of all greenhouse gas emissions and called on the industry to take action.

Pattullo went on to explain that many countries have established environmental legislation targeting businesses, but there is still no global agreement or clear global targets.

He believes that since consistent state regulations won’t be enacted anytime soon, the logistics industry needs to work collectively to develop globally accepted regulations.

Pattullo highlighted that the current complex network of regulations is currently an obstacle for logistics companies to establish a sustainable supply chain.

For instance, voluntary agreements to reduce emissions are only active in some regions of the world.

The logistics industry would therefore clearly benefit from cooperation with competitors, peers and customers to develop consistent global guidelines for a sustainable supply chain management.

Another obstacle, said Pattullo, is that sustainable logistics is not necessarily management’s top priority, and in today’s economy, many customers are unwilling to pay a premium for green transport.

Despite all these obstacles, said Pattullo, the logistics industry must support change towards sustainable services.